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Mudblood
and Barrett Fay; books referring to Mudbloods were printed after the Ministry of Magic fell to the Dark Lord.]] Mudblood is a derogatory term for a Muggle-born wizard or witch; that is, individuals with no wizarding parents or grandparents . There does not appear to be any difference in the magical power of Muggle-borns compared to those who are pure-blood or half-blood, but those prejudiced against Muggle-borns consider them to be of "lower breeding" or worth, and undeserving of magic. The term implies that the individual has "dirty blood" and is considered extremely offensive.Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets There are apparently other, less commonly used terms with a similar meaning, such as "creature of dirt"Order of the Phoenix, Ch. 6. History Use by prejudiced witches and wizards Many older wizarding families place great emphasis on blood purity and reject association with Muggles and Muggle-borns, both of whom they consider greatly inferior to themselvesIn the F.A.Q. section of her website, J. K. Rowling stated that "As far as somebody like Lucius Malfoy is concerned, for instance, a Muggle-born is as 'bad' as a Muggle." . The notion is foremost in the minds of Dark Wizards, Death Eaters, and other followers of Lord Voldemort. It is possible that some well-meaning pureblood families espouse this prejudice as well, but to a less virulent degree. Notably, some pure-bloods, such as members of the Weasley family, reject these prejudices and are labelled "blood traitors" or "Mudblood-lovers" as a result. ]]The term "Mudblood" is generally not used in polite society, as it is considered highly offensive and vulgar, on par with the racial epithets often heard in the Muggle world. When Draco Malfoy called Hermione Granger a Mudblood in 1992, he was nearly attacked by several members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team and was nearly cursed by Ronald Weasley. However, when Lord Voldemort was in control of the Ministry of Magic in 1997, the term became more prevalent, appearing even in the Daily Prophet and Ministry propaganda. This was in line with Death Eater ideology being disseminated to the general public, which claimed that Muggle-borns were not "real" wizards and witches.Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Use by Muggle-borns is frequently referred to as a "mudblood" by prejudiced pure-bloods such as Draco Malfoy.]] There are some Muggle-borns who refuse to allow the term to be degrading to them. For example, Lily Evans told her former friend Severus Snape that if he was going to refer to other Muggle-borns as "Mudbloods", then he had to use the term for her as well, and Hermione Granger declared that she was proud to be a "Mudblood" in 1998. Examples of the term's use Behind the scenes *In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, after Draco Malfoy calls Hermione Granger a "filthy little Mudblood", it is shown that Hermione is already familiar with the term, which is odd, considering that it would be unlikely for her to hear it anywhere, and she and Rubeus Hagrid explain it to Harry Potter. In the novel, Hermione had never heard the word before, and Ron Weasley explains it to her and Harry. Notes and references See also *Blood purity *Pure-blood *Blood traitor fr:Sang-de-Bourbe Category:Muggle-borns Category:Slurs